Green Ink: GM’s Bankruptcy, Green IT, and No Worries for Nuclear

Crude oil futures jumped above $68 a barrel thanks to the weaker dollar and a rebound in Chinese manufacturing, Bloomberg reports. Not that everybody sees a recovery in demand, not even the Chinese, in the WSJ. Plenty of analysts are skeptical about oil fundamentals too, in the WSJ.

General Motors is expected to have filed for bankruptcy protection this morning. With the U.S. government in the driver’s seat, potential conflicts abound, the WSJ notes: “The government will open its pocketbook again to help these companies rather than back off on its environmental agenda,” says one analyst. “It can’t have it both ways.”

The Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill faces a gauntlet of fresh committee hearings in the House—Grist details who wants a piece of the action and what exactly they want. And what some don’t want: Martin Feldstein still thinks the bill is an expensive mistake that won’t dent global emissions, in the WaPo.

Also in the WaPo, an inside look at how candidate Obama got turned on to energy issues and decided it was an issue that needed some “pop.”

India reiterates what it wants from the U.S. in terms of climate policy: Strong domestic legislation and lots of cash. While a U.S. climate bill won’t secure international cooperation, the absence of one will doom the Copenhagen summit, in Reuters.

Green-tech start-up Hara comes out of stealth mode today with a bang: The software firm, whose name means “green” in Sanskrit, offers companies a way to measure and manage energy and water use, in the NYT, LAT, and Earth2Tech.

The big winner in renewable energy in coming decades will be biomass. That’s especially important for states in the South that don’t have many other clear options for renewable energy, in the WSJ.

The aviation industry is also looking to biomass—to turn into jet biofuel. Certification could come as early as next year, so now all the industry needs to do is figure out how to make lots of fuel, at Scientific American.

Are Finland’s nuclear woes a cautionary tale for the rest of the industry? Don’t bet on it, say Rod Adams and Dan Yurman.

President Obama’s walking a tightrope on coal policy and upsetting many environmentalists after apparently backtracking on mountaintop coal mining, in the L.A. Times.

Finally, today is the beginning of hurricane season. But don’t fret—forecasters expect a relatively mild storm season, and changes in the energy business mean any impacts should be muted, in the WSJ.

About Environmental Capital

Environmental Capital provides daily news and analysis of the shifting energy and environmental landscape. The Wall Street Journal’s Keith Johnson is the lead writer. Environmental Capital is led by Journal energy reporter Russell Gold, and includes contributions from other writers at the Journal, WSJ.com, and Dow Jones Newswires. Write us at environmentalcapital@wsj.com.